Freedom

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PASSAGE:

A little boy and his father visited the country store. Upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. "Get a handful of candy", the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son, get a handful of candy; it’s free." Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a handful of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a handful of the free candy. The boy, with a big smile on his face, looked into the face of his father and said, "Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine." (Source Unknown)

This chapter explains about the big hand of our heavenly Father when He says, "There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (v.1). He does not mean that Christians do not suffer various consequences because of their sin, but they do not suffer condemnation. Paul points out three things the Law cannot do to a Christian:

1. It cannot claim you (v. 2). You now have life in the Spirit, and the Law no longer has any jurisdiction over you.

2. It cannot condemn you (v. 3). The law of double jeopardy states that a man cannot be tried twice for the same crime. Since Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins, God will not bring you to trial again.

3. It cannot control you (v. 4). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the one who enables you to walk in obedience to God’s will (Philippians 2:13). When D.L. Moody described his conversion experience, he said: "I was in a new world. The next morning the sun shone brighter and the birds sang sweeter ... the trees waved their branches for joy, and all nature was at peace."

In verses 5-11 Paul is drawing a contrast between two kinds of life. (1) There is the life that is dominated by a sinful human nature, whose focus is self and its own desires. It may be passion-controlled, lust controlled, pride controlled or ambition controlled. (2) There is a life that is dominated by the Spirit of God. This person has no mind of his own; Christ is his mind. This person has no desires of his own; only the will of God. These two lives are going in opposite directions.

APPLICATION:

In every perplexing situation I must ask, “What would Jesus want me to do?” When the Holy Spirit points out what is right, I need to do it quickly and eagerly.